Coast to Coast (1987 film)

Coast to Coast
Directed by	Sandy Johnson
Written by	Stan Hey
Starring	Lenny Henry John Shea
Music by	Motown
Release date(s)	1987
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Coast to Coast is a 1987 comedy thriller starring Lenny Henry, John Shea, with cameos from Peter Vaughan, Pete Postlethwaite and Cherie Lunghi. It was directed by Sandy Johnson from a script by Stan Hey. It featured a fantastic sound track of classic Motown tracks.

Plot

A story of two guys Ritchie Lee (Lenny Henry) and John Carloff (John Shea) who team up to start a mobile soul disco after converting an old ice cream van into what I would describe as the pope mobile with attitude things start to take a turn for the worse.

After firstly being booked for a geriatrics evening entertainment with Ritchie saying “How was I supposed to know the bloke just asked if we were a '60s disco”.

Then getting their first proper gig …no not a posh house party in a willow mansion but a wedding reception in a Kirby pub…Ritchie retorts “KIRBY? Bloody ell it will cost us £41 in life insurance c’mon man Kirby is bad news wedding receptions worse news a wedding reception in Kirby is a disaster! There’s always some knob head going through your records and there’s always a fight” Still the pair turn up and as Ritchie predicts it kicks off big style so they make their getaway …Quick only to find the van break dow.

Ritchie then introduces john to Keck’s (Postleswaite) a British Rail buffet car attendant with high ambitions who sold the van to Ritchie after a quick drink and a French revolution Keck’s tells them to “take it to our kids in the morning and he will fix it free of charge” Then offers them a bit of work moving some gear from his lock up.

The following night Ritchie and John arrive outside Keck’s lockup to find a strange noise coming from within”what’s he doing in there drilling for oil?” Ritchie queries.

Keck’s appears with a number off parcels which they load into the van and take to Keck’s flat when they arrive Keck’s tells the lads to go on he will lock up the van but sneakily hides a parcel in the freezer compartment.

When the parcels are safely in Keck’s flat he gives the lads £20 and says “errr and if anything else goes wrong with the van! Tough shit “and closes the door. Ritchie and John head for the nearest pub and commenting how one minute your down and then your up again as they order their beer the bartender notes “ and then your right back down again” as he shows the £20 note as an obvious fake.

They hurry back to Keck’s flat and arrive just as he is trying to leave with a convincing disguise on …not they force Keck’s to tell the what’s going on and he tells them that he has stole some printing plates for £20 notes of a heavy duty villain in London and is about to skip the country with his little bundle but he’s hidden the plates in the van and was going to ring the lads when he was abroad to ask if the would deliver them to a contact in parkiston.

But the bloke won’t be there till later in the week so they would have to sit on the plates “that’s great that is you piss of out of Liverpool and we have to hang about and listen for cockney accents” Ritchie points out Keck’s replies “you’re a mobile disco stay mobile after being offered £1000 for delivery and another £1000 on arrival they worryingly agree when Keck’s asks for a lift to the airport they say “ not a chance “ and leave.

As they leave they pass a couple of guys on the stairs who comment about the weather it is not until they get down the stairs they realise they spoke with a cockney accent so they jump in the van and head off coast to coast.

Release

The film has a strong following, but contractual problems^[1] and the cost of licensing the soundtrack music have prevented it from being distributed on video or DVD.

Tracks in order (They appear in the Show)

• "Ain,t that peculiar" ~ Marvin Gaye
• "Heaven must have sent you" ~ The Elgins
• "Money" ~ Barratt Strong
• "It should've been me" ~ Gladys Knight
• "It's the same old song" ~Four tops
• "Just a Little Misunderstanding" ~ The Contours
• "Going to a Go-Go" ~ The Miracles
• "Danger Heartache Dead Ahead" ~ The Marvelettes
• "Nowhere to Run" ~Martha & The Vandellas
• "(I'm a) Road Runner" ~ Junior Walker & The All Stars
• "Needle In A Haystack" ~ The Velvelettes
• "When I'm Gone" ~ Brenda Holloway
• "Reach Out I'll Be There" ~ The Four Tops
• "Headline News" ~ Edwin Starr
• "I've Passed This Way Before" ~ Jimmy Ruffin
• "This Old Heart Of Mine" ~ Isley Brothers
• "Knock On Wood" ~ Curtis Duchamp & the 48 TAC Wing R&B Allstars
• "Drift Away" ~ Shea,Henry& the 48 TAC Wing R&B Allstars
• "(I Know) I'm Losing You" ~ The Temptations
• "Can I Get A Witness" ~ Marvin Gaye

References

1. ^ http://www.guerilla-films.com/coast_to_coast.htm

External links

• Coast to Coast at the Internet Movie Database
• Lenny Henry on "what's the deal with coast to coast?"